Bruno Sammartino sits down with JBL to talk about his WWE Hall of Fame career on Legends with JBL: Courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.

10/13/2016 - 15:30

5 Hall of Famers' surprising last WWE matches: 5 Things, December 16, 2015Not every career ends with an emotional sendoff. Do you remember the final matches for these five WWE Hall of Famers?12/16/2015 - 10:32

1,000-day WWE Champions: 5 Things, July 15, 2015

Only five Superstars have held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for more than 1,000 days. Can you name them?

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Bruno Sammartino announces his retirement: Championship Wrestling, Aug. 12, 1981After a dominant career in a WWE ring, Bruno Sammartino vowed to retire on top of his game.09/30/2014 - 11:37

Instant Replay? - WWE Top 10Major League Baseball has instituted new instant replay rules. WWE Top 10 looks back at moments that could've been different if there was instant replay!01/24/2014 - 17:36

Bruno Sammartino vs. "Superstar" Billy Graham: WWE App Exclusive, Jan. 6, 2014A look back at the WWE Championship Match between Bruno Sammartino and "Superstar" Billy Graham that happened right here in Baltimore. To get a first look at more exclusives like this, check out the official WWE App!01/06/2014 - 19:53

Former WWE and World Heavyweight Champions discuss what it was like to capture their illustrious titlesWhat was it like to be considered the best in sports entertainment?12/06/2013 - 12:36

WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino participates in New York's Columbus Day Parade: Oct. 14, 2013Bruno Sammartino participates in an arm wrestling contest and Columbus Day Parade in New York City.10/14/2013 - 15:46

Happy Birthday Bruno Sammartino: WWE App Exclusive, Oct. 7, 2013Jerry "The King" Lawler leads the WWE Universe in singing "Happy Birthday" to the WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino. To get a first look at more exclusives like this, check out the official WWE App!10/07/2013 - 20:47

A look at some of the greatest champions: Raw, July 1, 2013A special look at some of the greatest superstars who have been WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion.07/01/2013 - 23:37

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Eight things you need to know about Bruno Sammartino

Bruno Sammartino is the longest reigning WWE Champion in history, an unmatched box-office attraction and an inspiration to a generation of kids who grew up admiring The Italian Superman. And there’s a chance you might have no idea who he is.

Don’t feel bad if you’re not familiar with Bruno. John F. Kennedy was in office when The Living Legend won his first WWE Title and disco music was still on the radio when he wrestled his last match. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn a thing or two about one of the most integral pieces in the WWE puzzle.

Here, WWE Classics offers up a crash course in the life of a sports-entertainment institution. Read our CliffsNotes then dive deeper into the unique life of the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame inductee. You’ll thank us later.

Bruno Sammartino spent much of his childhood hiding from the Nazis

Much has been written about Bruno Sammartino’s staggering list of achievements as an adult, but the story of his childhood is truly the most unbelievable part of his fascinating life.

During Sammartino’s youth in Pizzoferrato, Italy, his small village was seized by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi forces, causing Bruno’s mother to flee with her seven children to a mountain called Valla Rocca in order to stay alive. At the time, Sammartino’s father had already immigrated to America, so his mother was forced to protect her children by herself. During this difficult period, four of Bruno’s siblings died as the family spent weeks with nothing to eat but the snow on the ground. Once, Sammartino and his family were even lined up in front of a Nazi firing squad, seconds from death before they were rescued at the last moment.

Miraculously, Bruno survived Hitler’s reign of terror and a near fatal case of scarlet fever before arriving in the United States in 1950 — an unspeakably traumatic childhood which no doubt filled him with the drive to succeed in America.

Bruno Sammartino sold out Madison Square Garden 187 times

In the industries of sports and entertainment, there is an unwritten rule that states: “You haven’t made it until you’ve played the Garden.” While performing in New York City’s Madison Square Garden is an achievement in its own right, selling out “The World’s Most Famous Arena” is another matter entirely. And Bruno Sammartino is the only man to do it an untouchable 187 times during his career.

During The Living Legend’s tenure with WWE through much of the 1960s and ’70s, Bruno headlined a total of 211 events at the famed Manhattan arena. In those days, WWE ran shows at the Garden every month, meaning close to 20,000 fans lined up at the ticket booth every four weeks for their chance to see the mighty Italian. Dastardly opponents like the fearsome Toru Tanaka and the depraved Original Sheik fell before Bruno in front of capacity crowds, earning MSG yet another nickname — “The House That Bruno Built.”

Bruno Sammartino set a world record for bench press in 1959

When Bruno Sammartino arrived in Pittsburgh by way of Abruzzi, Italy, in 1950, he was a scrawny, malnourished 14-year-old who was lucky to be alive. Nine years later, he was considered to be one of the strongest men on the planet.

Finding purpose in the weight room, Bruno became maniacally dedicated to lifting as a teenager — often spending four to five hours training on a given day. By 1959, Sammartino was so strong that he set an unofficial world record for the bench press when he put up an unprecedented 565 pounds! There were no gimmicky “bench shirts” or performance enhancements involved in Bruno’s historic lift — just one man and a whole lot of steel.

It’s been said that Bruno could have chosen to compete in the Olympics and officially become recognized as the world’s record holder if he wanted to. In an era with no seven-figure sponsorships for Olympic athletes, though, Bruno decided to put his strongman skills to work by pursuing a paying professional wrestling career. He made the right choice.

Bruno Sammartino was a good guy for his entire career

During the two decades that Bruno Sammartino reigned atop the sports-entertainment world, the Italian Superstar never once strayed from path of righteousness. Bruno continually received the love, respect and adoration of WWE fans both young and old alike — a support system he relied on as he stepped into the ring against villains like Virgil the Kentucky Butcher.

When the straightforward Bruno talked about facing an opponent, people hung on his every word. They steadfastly believed in Sammartino for always being honest in his thoughts, and felt that he was one of them. It did not matter about race, creed or ethnicity whatsoever. His fan following was incredible, and went a long way to establishing his status of being The Living Legend. No other wrestling hero has been as unwavering as Bruno. Not Hulk Hogan, not Bret Hart, not even John Cena. And that’s saying something.

Bruno Sammartino held the WWE Title for 2,803 consecutive days

CM Punk’s recent 434-day run as WWE Champion stands as a record for the modern era, but The Straight Edge Superstar was still 2,369 days away from matching the epic reign of Bruno Sammartino.

The Italian hero’s unfathomable 2,803 days as WWE Champion began on May 17, 1963, when he dethroned “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers in an unheard of 48 seconds. For the next seven years and eight months, Bruno defended sports-entertainment’s richest prizes all over the world against serious challengers like Gorilla Monsoon, Killer Kowalski and “Big Cat” Ernie Ladd.

“The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff shocked the wrestling world when he toppled Sammartino off his throne in Madison Square Garden on Jan. 18, 1971. Three years later, Bruno would win the WWE Title again and carry it for an additional 1,237 days, bringing his cumulative time as champion to a staggering 4,040 days.

Bruno Sammartino headlined three WWE shows at New York’s Shea Stadium

From 1964 until its closing in 2008, Shea Stadium provided Queens residents with a place to check out baseball’s best. Usually, they were passing through town to beat up on the lowly Mets, which left the people of Queens County looking for a hero.

They found one in Bruno Sammartino. The Living Legend headlined the only three professional wrestling events to take place on the Mets’ home field. The first “Showdown at Shea” went down in 1972, and featured a grueling 65-minute draw between Sammartino and Pedro Morales. Four years later, he fought off the challenge of Stan “The Lariat” Hansen to hang on to his coveted title. At the final Shea Stadium card in 1980, Sammartino got retribution against his former protégé, Larry Zbyszko, inside the confines of a steel cage.

Bruno’s victory was the final wrestling match to take place at Shea Stadium. With the Mets’ performance in recent years, we can only imagine that fans are wishing for The Living Legend to make an appearance at their new home, Citi Field.

Bruno Sammartino was more than just a regional attraction

Back in the days when the wrestling industry was territorial in scope, competitors tended to find their fame in a specific region of the country. As WWE Champion, Bruno Sammartino became a household name in Northeastern cities like New York, Boston and Philadelphia, but the Italian Superstar was one of the first professional wrestlers to gain a following all around the world.

Besides competing in major domestic markets like St. Louis, Los Angeles and Chicago, Sammartino became an in demand attraction in Canada, Australia and Japan, where he routinely tangled with the beloved Giant Baba. The Living Legend’s home was always New York City’s Madison Square Garden, but there’s no doubt that Bruno Sammartino was WWE’s first global entity.

Bruno Sammartino was the namesake of singer Bruno Mars

While Bruno Sammartino’s name is forever etched in WWE history, The Living Legend wasn’t exactly a pop culture sensation after his retirement from active competition in 1981. But his name has been introduced to a new generation through an unlikely source: pop star Bruno Mars.

Mars, whose real name is Peter Hernandez, explained in several recent interviews that his stage name came from his father, a big fan of Sammartino’s. The “Locked Out of Heaven” singer was a little pudgy as a baby, and his dad saw some resemblance between his son and The Living Legend.

Mars may have forgotten what Sammartino looks like, however. In those interviews, he’s described Bruno as big and fat. We can guarantee that anyone who was familiar with the best conditioned athlete of his era would use anything but those two words.